Sarasota Commission inclined to spend more

Monday

Sep 9, 2013 at 10:36 PM

By ZAC ANDERSONzac.anderson@heraldtribune.com

After years of budget austerity, Sarasota County commissioners on Monday tentatively approved a nearly $1.1 billion spending plan for 2014 that includes money for new employees, pay raises and expanded county services.

The question of how to pay for all the new spending over the long run was left for another day, though.

For now, the county is relying on up to $46 million from a special reserve fund to cover a large gap between revenues and expenditures. The property tax rate will not increase, although the budget includes an extra $6 million in tax collections generated by a 4.2 percent increase in countywide property values.

On average, the owner of a property with $200,000 in taxable value last year will pay an additional $28 in county taxes in the upcoming budget cycle, not factoring in the Save Our Homes tax cap for homestead properties.

The commission voted 4-1 for the fiscal plan, which covers the budget year that begins Oct. 1. Commissioner Christine Robinson objected to the deep reliance on reserve spending.

“We're spending more than we're taking in, even with the increase in property values,” Robinson said. “We're facing a huge budget deficit in 2016 and we're failing to plan for it.”

But other commissioners said the special reserve fund — set aside during the last decade's real estate boom — represents excess tax collections that should be spent on community needs. Commissioner Charles Hines said economic growth and responsible budgeting should help close the deficit in the future, although he also noted the county has a low tax rate.

“We're in good shape” for next year, Hines said. “The hard part of our job over the next few years is if we don't want to raise taxes, how do we keep that level of service up?”

The 2014 budget includes an additional 116 employees, bringing total employment to 3,413. The county is setting aside $4.2 million for raises — or 3 percent on average — for all non-bargaining employees.

Major new budget items include a renovation of the Siesta Key Beach pavilion, four new fire stations and funding to have county workers take over more right-of-way mowing.

The mowing currently is done primarily by private contractors, some of whom have struggled to do the work.

There is also a significant increase in spending for the Sheriff's Office.

Although the total budget is growing from $896 million to $1.077 billion, most of the increase is one-time spending on construction and infrastructure projects that are not funded through property taxes.

Monday's meeting was the first of two required public hearings before the final budget is adopted. Only one member of the public spoke at the hearing, asking questions about health and human services funding.